Business Analyst Glossary: Key Terminology
- Michelle M
- Sep 3
- 8 min read
Business analysis is a discipline that plays a critical role in bridging the gap between business needs and technical solutions. A business analyst (BA) is responsible for identifying requirements, analyzing processes, and ensuring that projects deliver value to the organization. Because the field touches so many areas from requirements gathering to stakeholder management to solution validation it comes with a rich terminology that can be confusing for newcomers.
This Business Analyst Glossary compiles 100 essential terms, each explained in clear detail, to help professionals, students, and stakeholders better understand the language of business analysis. By mastering this vocabulary, you will be better equipped to communicate, collaborate, and contribute to successful project outcomes.
1. Business Analysis
Business analysis is the practice of identifying business needs and finding solutions to business problems. It involves requirements gathering, process improvement, and ensuring solutions deliver value to stakeholders.
2. Business Analyst (BA)
A professional who bridges the gap between stakeholders and technical teams. They analyze needs, document requirements, and ensure the delivered solution aligns with organizational goals.
3. Stakeholder
An individual, group, or organization that has an interest in or is affected by the outcome of a project. Stakeholders can include customers, executives, employees, or suppliers.
4. Requirement
A documented need or expectation of a stakeholder that a solution must fulfill. Requirements are central to the work of business analysts.
5. Functional Requirement
Specifies what a system should do, such as calculations, data processing, or business rules. It defines the features of the solution.
6. Non-Functional Requirement
Specifies how a system should behave, such as performance, reliability, security, or usability. These ensure quality attributes of the solution.
7. Business Requirement
A high-level need of the organization, such as improving efficiency or increasing revenue. These requirements form the foundation for project goals.
8. Technical Requirement
Specifies the technical aspects of how a solution will be implemented, such as hardware, software, or system integration needs.
9. Requirement Elicitation
The process of gathering requirements from stakeholders using techniques like interviews, workshops, surveys, or observation.
10. Requirement Analysis
The process of examining requirements to ensure they are clear, complete, consistent, and feasible for implementation.
11. Requirement Documentation
The act of recording requirements in a structured format. This documentation serves as a reference for stakeholders and project teams.
12. Requirement Validation
Ensuring that requirements meet the actual needs of stakeholders and align with project objectives before implementation begins.
13. Requirement Prioritization
Ranking requirements based on their importance, urgency, and value to stakeholders to ensure resources are allocated effectively.
14. Requirement Traceability
The ability to link each requirement back to business objectives and forward to design, development, and testing artifacts.
15. Business Process
A set of tasks or activities that, when completed, achieve a specific business goal. Business processes are often analyzed for improvement.
16. Process Modeling
Creating a visual representation of a business process to understand workflows, identify bottlenecks, and propose improvements.
17. Use Case
A description of how a user interacts with a system to achieve a goal. Use cases define system behavior from the user’s perspective.
18. User Story
A simple, informal description of a feature from the perspective of the end user. User stories are widely used in Agile environments.
19. Acceptance Criteria
Conditions that must be met for a requirement, feature, or solution to be accepted by stakeholders or customers.
20. Business Rules
Policies, procedures, or constraints that define or restrict business operations. These rules must be considered in requirements.
21. Data Dictionary
A repository that defines the meaning, relationships, and attributes of data elements within a system or project.
22. Data Modeling
The process of creating diagrams that represent how data is structured and how different entities relate to each other.
23. Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)
A type of diagram used to model data entities and their relationships. It helps define system data requirements.
24. Gap Analysis
The comparison of current processes or capabilities with desired future states to identify gaps and areas for improvement.
25. SWOT Analysis
An evaluation of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats affecting a business or project. Used in strategic planning.
26. Feasibility Study
An assessment of the practicality of a proposed solution, including technical, financial, and operational feasibility.
27. Benchmarking
The process of comparing business processes and performance metrics against industry best practices or competitors.
28. KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
A measurable value that indicates how effectively a business is achieving its objectives. BAs track KPIs to evaluate performance.
29. Business Case
A formal document that justifies a project, outlining the benefits, costs, risks, and alignment with organizational strategy.
30. Cost-Benefit Analysis
A comparison of the costs of a project against the expected benefits to determine if the project is worthwhile.
31. Root Cause Analysis
A technique for identifying the fundamental reason behind a problem or failure in a business process.
32. Fishbone Diagram
Also called Ishikawa diagram, this tool helps identify potential causes of a problem by categorizing them visually.
33. Five Whys
A root cause analysis technique that involves asking “why” repeatedly until the fundamental issue is discovered.
34. BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation)
A standardized method of modeling business processes using specific symbols and notations for clarity.
35. Agile Methodology
An iterative approach to project management and software development that emphasizes collaboration and adaptability.
36. Scrum
An Agile framework that organizes work into sprints, led by a Scrum Master, with roles like Product Owner and Development Team.
37. Product Owner
The person responsible for defining the product backlog, prioritizing work, and ensuring that the team delivers value.
38. Scrum Master
The facilitator who ensures the Scrum team follows Agile principles and removes obstacles to progress.
39. Sprint
A fixed time period, typically 2–4 weeks, during which specific work is completed and reviewed in Agile projects.
40. Backlog
A prioritized list of work items, such as features, fixes, or improvements, maintained by the product owner.
41. Waterfall Methodology
A traditional, sequential approach to project management where phases follow one after another without overlap.
42. Hybrid Methodology
A project management approach that combines elements of Agile and Waterfall to suit project needs.
43. Change Request
A formal proposal to modify a requirement, feature, or process within a project.
44. Change Control Board (CCB)
A group of stakeholders responsible for reviewing and approving or rejecting change requests.
45. Risk Management
The process of identifying, analyzing, and mitigating potential risks that could impact project success.
46. Risk Register
A document that captures identified risks, their impact, likelihood, and mitigation strategies.
47. Issue Log
A record of problems, concerns, or decisions that need to be tracked and resolved during a project.
48. Project Charter
A document that formally authorizes a project and outlines objectives, scope, stakeholders, and key deliverables.
49. Scope Creep
The uncontrolled expansion of project scope without adjustments to time, cost, or resources.
50. MoSCoW Prioritization
A technique for prioritizing requirements as Must have, Should have, Could have, or Won’t have.
51. RACI Matrix
A responsibility assignment chart that clarifies who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed.
52. Business Need
The underlying reason why a project is initiated, often expressed in terms of problems to be solved or opportunities to seize.
53. Current State Analysis
An evaluation of existing processes and systems to understand baseline performance before changes are made.
54. Future State Vision
The desired state of business operations after a solution or improvement is implemented.
55. Transition Requirements
Requirements that describe what must be done to move from the current state to the future state.
56. Fit-Gap Analysis
A method of comparing business needs against system capabilities to determine areas of alignment and misalignment.
57. Solution Assessment
The evaluation of a proposed solution to ensure it meets requirements and delivers intended value.
58. Vendor Management
The process of managing relationships with third-party suppliers to ensure they deliver expected value.
59. Request for Proposal (RFP)
A document issued to solicit proposals from vendors for products or services.
60. Request for Information (RFI)
A preliminary document used to gather information from vendors before issuing an RFP.
61. Request for Quotation (RFQ)
A document requesting detailed pricing information from vendors for specific products or services.
62. Business Intelligence (BI)
The use of data analysis tools and techniques to support better business decision-making.
63. Dashboard
A visual display of key business metrics and data used to monitor performance in real-time.
64. Data Mining
The process of analyzing large datasets to identify patterns, trends, or relationships that support business decisions.
65. Big Data
Extremely large data sets that require advanced tools and techniques to store, process, and analyze.
66. Data Governance
The framework for managing data quality, security, and usage across an organization.
67. Business Architecture
A blueprint that defines the structure, capabilities, and processes of an organization to align with strategy.
68. Enterprise Architecture
A framework for aligning business strategy with IT infrastructure, processes, and systems.
69. Balanced Scorecard
A performance management tool that measures organizational performance across financial and non-financial metrics.
70. Value Proposition
The benefit a product, service, or project delivers to stakeholders, often expressed as the reason to choose it.
71. ROI (Return on Investment)
A financial metric used to measure the profitability of a project compared to its costs.
72. NPV (Net Present Value)
A financial analysis method that calculates the present value of future cash flows from a project.
73. IRR (Internal Rate of Return)
A financial metric used to evaluate the profitability of a project by calculating the discount rate at which NPV equals zero.
74. Project Sponsor
The individual who provides resources, support, and authority for a project to proceed.
75. Project Manager
The professional responsible for planning, executing, and closing projects while managing scope, time, and cost.
76. Functional Manager
A manager responsible for overseeing a department or function, often consulted during requirements gathering.
77. Operational Excellence
An organizational approach focused on continuous improvement, efficiency, and delivering value.
78. Continuous Improvement
The ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
79. Six Sigma
A methodology for process improvement that reduces defects and variability using statistical techniques.
80. Lean
A methodology that focuses on eliminating waste and maximizing value in processes.
81. Value Stream
The set of activities that deliver value from the start of a process to the customer.
82. Business Value
The measurable benefit an organization gains from a project or initiative, such as increased revenue or customer satisfaction.
83. Stakeholder Map
A visual representation of stakeholders, their interests, and their influence over a project.
84. Communication Plan
A strategy for ensuring stakeholders receive the right information at the right time during a project.
85. Workshop
A structured meeting where stakeholders collaborate to gather requirements, solve problems, or make decisions.
86. Interview
A one-on-one or group conversation used to gather information directly from stakeholders.
87. Survey
A structured questionnaire distributed to stakeholders to collect input and feedback.
88. Observation
Watching how stakeholders perform their work to identify implicit requirements and processes.
89. Prototyping
Building a preliminary version of a solution to validate requirements and gather feedback.
90. Wireframe
A simple visual representation of a user interface used to communicate design concepts.
91. Mockup
A more detailed design of a user interface that provides stakeholders with a clearer view of the final solution.
92. Simulation
A technique used to model and test processes or systems in a controlled environment before implementation.
93. Business Context Diagram
A high-level visual that shows the scope of a system and its interaction with external entities.
94. System Context Diagram
A diagram showing how a system interacts with users, external systems, and interfaces.
95. UML (Unified Modeling Language)
A standardized modeling language used to visualize, specify, and document software systems.
96. Class Diagram
A type of UML diagram that models the structure of a system by showing classes and their relationships.
97. Activity Diagram
A type of UML diagram used to represent workflows and processes within a system.
98. Sequence Diagram
A UML diagram that illustrates how objects interact in a process, focusing on sequence and timing.
99. Collaboration Diagram
A UML diagram that shows how objects work together to accomplish a task.
100. Glossary
A structured list of terms and their definitions maintained in business analysis to ensure clear communication among stakeholders.
Conclusion - Business Analyst Glossary
The role of a business analyst is deeply rooted in clarity, precision, and communication. A shared vocabulary ensures that everyone involved in projects from stakeholders to developers understands objectives and requirements consistently. This Business Analyst Glossary provides a comprehensive foundation for both new and experienced professionals to navigate the complexities of the field with confidence. Mastering these terms is not just about language it’s about enabling collaboration, reducing risks, and maximizing business value.
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